Why You Should Invest In Brand Keywords In Your PPC Search Campaigns?

Most SEM Experts agree that SEO and PPC are essential in Search Engine Marketing. Yet, many people are on only one side of the fence. We believe that SEO and PPC should go hand in hand. Here you can find some arguments on why using branded keywords in CPC campaigns – although you rank high in the organic search results – is essential for a successful Search Engine Marketing.

We agree that bidding on your core brand names and terms is worthwhile, because:

If you don’t buy these keywords someone else will. When you rank first for a known brand term, the chances are high that your competitors will be aiming to rank for it too. So, by buying space in the sponsored listing, you cut down their visibility and ensure all the searchers are seeing you, not them.

With paid listings you ensure you are always visible. If your company relies on its high rank, then you risk losing business if your ranking dips for a period; whether because of a competitor’s SEO activities or a change in the search engine’s algorithm.

There are people who click paid links over organic ones. Maybe you have already seen this in your own web Analytics data that a certain percentage of searchers click on an advert rather than your site on the organic results . By buying this space and filling the results page, you can make the most of the resulting traffic. We have experienced that when both organic and paid search results are listed together for the same site, the overall click-through rates increase.

You’ve already spent a lot of money to build the reputation that generated the branded search. Paying a few cents for the ‘last mile’ of the click to actually get the visit is a good investment. By buying PPC and having the top rank, you show potential clients that you really mean business. Placing yourself in front of them more often, will raise their awareness of you and can strengthen their impression that you are a market leader.

Branded keywords have huge CTR and this drives your account quality score up. The quality score is important to keep your Pay Per Click costs down. Having very high CTR for your branded keywords will positively affect the overall cost of your campaign. This again, will influence your overall cost per conversion.

Last but not least… branded keywords cost per conversion are so low, that it won’t hurt you at all. Just try it out, tell us your experience and best practice.